Little Bernera ( gd, Beàrnaraigh Beag) is a small island situated off the west coast of the

Isle of Lewis The Isle of Lewis ( gd, Eilean Leòdhais) or simply Lewis ( gd, Leòdhas, ) is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides archipelago in Scotland. The two parts are frequently referred to a ...

in the

Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coas ...

. Little Bernera lies between the sea lochs of West and East Loch Roag, immediately to the north of

Great Bernera Great Bernera (; gd, Beàrnaraigh Mòr), often known just as Bernera ( gd, Beàrnaraigh), is an island and community in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. With an area of just over , it is the thirty-fourth largest Scottish island. Great Bernera l ...

. The island rises to a height of and has an area of 138 ha. The west of the island is extremely rugged and differs significantly from the

machair A machair (; sometimes machar in English) is a fertile low-lying grassy plain found on part of the northwest coastlines of Ireland and Scotland, in particular the Outer Hebrides. The best examples are found on North and South Uist, Harri ...

land of the eastern side which benefits from the blown shell sand of the picturesque beaches of Tràigh Mhòr and Tràigh na Teampuill.

History

The island has evidence of continuous settlement for centuries notably in the remains of former dwellings and chapels. The last tenants were forcibly evicted in 1825 when the island was turned into a satellite of Linshader farm. Following the clearance of the island the only habitable building as noted on the first edition of the Ordnance Survey was the slated fish curing-house. The island also contained a school set up by the SSPCK. A few centuries ago, the island was the place where people of

Carloway Carloway ( gd, Càrlabhagh, IPA: �kʰaːɾɫ̪ə.ɤː is a crofting township and a district on the west coast of the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. The district has a population of around 500. Carloway township is within the par ...

were buried, before a cemetery was built in that village. Today, gravestones can still be seen on the island, but are beginning to disappear into the ground. The island was owned by Count Robin Mirrlees. When he died in 2012 he left the Island to the

National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland ( gd, Urras Nàiseanta na h-Alba), is a Scottish conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organi ...

Landmarks

Tràigh an Teampaill

At Tràigh an Teampaill, there is the ruined chapel of St Michael and an adjacent cemetery. The island is also the site of the former chapel of St Dondans of which no trace remains but is generally believed to be sited in the very north-west near Mol Mòr. There is a folk story that a Norse king, Swain, took Gealchos, the daughter of a young priest, from Tràigh an Teampaill to Norway, but her heart broke mourning for Little Bernera, so he brought her back.

Teampull Bhearnaraidh Bheag

Teampull Bhearnaraidh Bheag' is a graveyard on a small sandy hill. Tradition says that there has been a Catholic chapel in this place but there is no trace of it now.

Notes and references

Islands of Loch Ròg Cleared places in the Outer Hebrides {{WesternIsles-geo-stub